The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1887-12-10
The TobabcO Habit.


I willie D. Leland. in the Golden Rule.l
The tobacco habit of the people of
the United States is large one. It ex-
hausts as no other harvest, 100000
acres of land. and iaNew York, alone.
commands 10000 persons.
The product Of tobacco in the United
States is greater than that Of any com-
I try in the world. 1t is safe to say that
the United States furnishes one-half
the tobacco that enters into general
commerce. According TO an estimate
made some years ago, the annual pro
duct was two billion pounds. This is
a sum no one can comprehend; but
place this tobacco out in sight and
look at it. 1t is a roll two inches in
diameter, reaching around the world
thirty times.
According to a later estimate, the
annual cost of tobacco is S6O,000,000.
What is this sum? Ii would build a
railroad, bonded at $4,000 a mile,
around the world; it would buy all
the bread stufls manufactured in the
country in year. II would pay for
all the meat and wooden goods pro-
duced in the country in twelve months.
Ii is six times all that is spent annually
in the country for public instruction.
Ii is millions more than all that was
paid to all wage receivers in the coun-
try IN 1880. Ii is enough to build and
equip 10000 miles of railroad, and give
to every idle man in the country, en-
ployment for every working day in the
year, aud wages enough to support his
family. 1t is enough to give every
third head of a family in the country Il
homestead of one hundred acres, paid
for and free from debt; it is enough
to build and equip 5000 colleges every
year; il is enough to build $4,000
homes for orphans, INDECENT and poor,
and endow them every year; it is
enough to send 100000 missionaries
abroad and throughout all land every
year; tits enough to give every man,
woman and child in the land two and
one-half barrels of extra fine flour and
stop the cry for bread. This is the
sum spent annually for the tobacco
habit.
But to divide this sum to see how il
bears on individuals. The great sun
is no less than an average of ten dol
lars TO every man, woman and child II
the country. But not all the womel
and children, nor all the men use to
bacco. If half the people in the coun
try used it, the average cost would b'
twenty dollars. Suppose a youns
mechanic spends for tobacco five cent
Il day, SlS.25 year-this is supposi
ton far below the average cost-at tn
end of ten years with compound inter
est, the cost becomes S2l0.54; at tn
end of twenty, $6l7.3O; at the end o
thirty, Sl,Al2.77. This man may pit!
his neighbor whose roofis burned owe
his head, but he has slowly burned vi
house himelf. lie thinks it all wronl
and cruel that some friend has no homi
for himself in old age he has destroy
ed one for himself and, perhaps, in ad
dltion, suffered some Of the physica
consequence of this vice.
How much is the burden Of tobacco
ON villagesI A Methodist minister tell
us that his whole society spent yeaI
for the support of his own church priv
ileges and missions, $8ll, and sixty
seven church members spent SS45 TO
tobacco. A Western town expende,
$2,712 for schools and churches aud n
the same time $l,099 for tobacco. \
correspondent for Southern pape
aflirms that in any Southern stat
where the negroes compose half tn
population, "The stuff which is sol,
amounts to more than the cost of al
the farming implements Of all kinds
including cotton-gins, cotton-prcsses
steam engines for farm use, horse
powers, and all sorts of meehanica
tools.7 and ends: II stand prepared
with DIR. Chalmers challenge, Give m
your pinch of snuff, and | will supper
the church, Give me your tobacco
cigars, and snuff, and | viii suppor
the whole Southern Church, and do ]
handsomely"
1t is well that good people feel a
much interest in this vice as they do
may they take much more. Let tn
young man that is hesitating abou
this vice consider well, and save him
setf from its slavery. Let all unite t
release this land, the poor, the hungry
the homeless, from the enormous bur
den of this tobacco habit.
r-a@
When and How 10 Make EnsIlage.
T'bn rniuq comn aud tho ro1ug cot